[Ct-nfb] TRANSPORTATION

[Chris Kuell]

Hi Trudy,

You bring up some very interesting points. Here's my two cents.

Blind people will never be able to drive independently, not because we can't, but because of cost, insurance, and societal acceptance. The first time a blind driver had a fatal accident it would incite a panic like we haven't seen in decades. 

I believe the NFB embarked on the blind driver challenge to 1. show the world we are capable of doing things they never thought we could 2. to get the name of the NFB in the news, and 3. to develop revolutionary technology which can and will be used in ways we can't even imagine yet. I think it hit the mark in all three areas.

In America, corporate interests are no longer separate from politics. To improve public transportation, there needs to be funding, which of course, comes from the government, and ultimately from tax payers. People don't want to pay more taxes, and they do want the privilege of driving their gas-guzzling cars, and they want that gas to be reasonably priced. This is also what the car manufacturers and oil producers want, and they get what they want, even if it's not necessarily in the best interest of society.

In Europe, public transportation is excellent, and far fewer Europeans drive cars than in the United States. This is because countries are smaller, which makes public transportation more feasible; governments have made huge investments in public transportation systems, and have raised gas prices so high that not only people with disabilities or those who have multiple DWIs use it--everybody does. And since everybody uses it, there is pressure for it to be timely and efficient.

chris
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